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When Solomon set about to build
the Jew’s first permanent temple structure in the 10th century BC,
he had to deal with a serious topographical dilemma. Unless one has visited Jerusalem and seen the temple site it
is almost impossible to visualize the gargantuan proportions of the task
involved. The temple itself was not
large but the manmade plateau or square on which the temple eventually stood was
an engineering task of fantastic dimensions.
In the first place, there was no practical accommodation for a temple on
the summit of Mount Moriah as it existed in its natural state. It had a steep ascent on three sides and a peak to the north.
The only flat surface was the threshing floor of Araunah and that was
barely large enough to accommodate a good sized room.
Solomon’s task was therefore to build a huge platform on top of this
mountain and then erect the temple on top of that.
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Nearly a thousand years later King Herod expanded the efforts of Solomon
by building a larger platform. He
followed nearly the same procedure of erecting walls and then filling them in
with rock and dirt. On top of this mount Herod rebuilt the Jewish Temple which
had earlier been destroyed by the Babylonians. When the Temple was being built,
the work was divided among the different sectors of the population. The building
of the Western Wall fell to the lot of the poor, and they worked hard to
construct it, as they could not afford to hire laborers to do their work for
them. In 68 AD however the Temple was again destroyed and the entire city was torn
down, this time by the Roman army.
Only one thing remained standing and that was the western retaining wall
of the temple mount. Apparently it
was just too massive for the Romans to deconstruct, so instead they buried it.
It would not be uncovered again until the 16th century.
From the onset of the Middle Ages, the area in front of the Wall had been
used as a garbage dump. (That is why the gate nearby the Wall is called
"Dung Gate.") In the 16th century, the Sultan Suleiman discovered the
location of the Wall and had the area cleaned it out and granted permission to
the Jews to hold prayers there.
Until
June 1967 the accessible portion of the wall was no longer than 28 m. In front
of it ran a stone-paved alley 3.5 m wide bordered on its west by a slum area.
The Wall aboveground consisted of 24 rows of stones of different dressing and
age, reaching a total height of 18 m with 6 m above the level of the Temple
Mount. In 1867 excavations revealed that 19 more courses lay buried underground,
the lowest being sunk into the natural rock of the Tyropoeon Valley.
With the six day war in June of 1967, the Jews gained control of the
Western Wall. In 1968 the ground in front of the Wall was excavated to
reveal two of the buried courses of stone, and the Wall then consisted of seven
layers of huge, marginally dressed ("Herodian") stones from the Second
Temple above which are four layers of smaller, plainly dressed stones from the
Roman or Byzantine periods. The upper stones were constructed after the Moslem
conquest.
Jewish travelers over the centuries used to marvel the immense dimensions
of the lower stones - average height 1 m and length 3 m, but some as long as 12
m. and weighing over 100 tons - and believed they were part of Solomon's Temple.
They were probably quarried at the Cave of Zedkiah (near the Damascus Gate). In
order to withstand the soil pressure of the filling behind the Wall, the rows
were laid in a terraced manner, each row being set back a few centimeters
relative to the one beneath it. The Wall thus slants slightly eastward. This
factor, the weight of the stones, and the accuracy of the cutting account for
the unusual stability of the Wall.
The underground tunnel starting at the north-west of the prayer plaza
passes close to the part of the Western Wall that is hidden by the buildings. It
goes through a system of vaulted areas and water cisterns. About 350 m. of the
Wall have been uncovered, up to the northern edge, which is the north-western
corner of the Temple Mount. In a tunnel the largest stones of the Wall were
found, including a giant stone about 60 m long, 3 m. high and 4 m. wide, and
weighing approximately 400 tons.
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Farther back from the wall is a broad open square paved with
light-colored sandstone, which can hold tens of thousands of people.
Prior to 1967 it was just a mess of apartments. It has since been
bulldozed by the Israeli Government forming a plaza larger than Times Square. This forum today is used for dancing, singing and meetings.
About two thirds of the space immediately in front of the wall is
reserved for the men; women have access to the last third, separated by a
low latticed fence from the rest of the Jewish holy site. A vaulted arch screened from
view to the north is known as Wilson's Arch, which in Herodian times linked the
Temple Mount with the Upper City. Men go to the western wall with their heads
covered with either a yarmulke or a hat. Even non-Jews are to wear these and
there is a pile of yarmulkes near the western wall for tourists to borrow.
When people are finished praying at the western wall they are supposed to
walk away with their backs away from the western wall as a sign of reverence.
Today with all of the terrorist bombings the wall is heavily guarded. No matter which entrance you enter into the western wall
plaza, you have to put your baggage through an x-ray machine, and each person
has to go through a metal detector, very similar to what you have to go through
at an airport. Security guards have bulletproof vests and some carry machine
guns. Also people aren't allowed to take pictures of these checkpoints.
The Wall’s meaning clearly extends beyond religion.
It is the symbol of Judaism as a nation, a religion, a people, and a culture.